Unless you have a "U3 Smart" drive, your removable flash drive probably has no launcher software. But you can add the PortableApps framework for free! Developed by John T. Haller, PortableApps is a menu system that will "auto-run" on device insertion. Just select "Start PortableApps" from the windows autorun dialog when you insert the drive (or start it manually from the top directory of the drive), and the menu will be accessible from an icon in your systray. From there, you can launch your "Portable Apps". These are programs which have a PortableApps-compliant "launcher", which ensures orderly startup/shutdown without contaminating the host PC. There are dozens of PortableApps, including the "PortableApps Suite TM", which includes OpenOffice, FireFox, ClamWin antivirus, e-mail, and even a good Sodoku game.

Unlike U3, the PortableApps menu does not track running programs, and it doesn't issue shutdown commands. You need to ensure that programs are closed and the PortableApps menu is shut down, prior to drive removal.

Prerequisites

PortableApps Menu version 1.0 or later, running on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, or Vista.
Obtain from http://portableapps.com/suite. Download the "base" edition (1 MB) for just the menu, or get more with either of the Suites.

You can run the .exe and instruct it to install into the "portableapps" directory on the removable drive.
ex: M:\PortableApps
It will make its own directory, beneath wherever it is installed to. ex: M:\PortableApps\ClipMatePortable

Or, you can install from the PortableApps menu (Options | Install A New Application), and it will place it properly for you.

Once installed, ClipMate will appear on the PortableApps menu.

Operation

Run ClipMate from the PortableApps menu. It will copy/paste just as if it were resident on the system, but the data will be stored on the USB drive. Remember to close ClipMate before ejecting the drive, and use the USB "safe eject" procedure. Unsafe drive removal can cause data loss, so be sure to occasionally back up the database onto your hard drive.

To minimize disk wear on the portable drive, and ensure quick shutdown during the "safe eject" process, ClipMate does not run any automatic clip purging. You will need to manually run this when needed, using File | Database Maintenance | Run Cleanup Now.